Express News Service
PATNA: Girls and boys, living in more than five dozen state government-run institutions, including specialised adoption agencies (SAA), are being encouraged through a first-of-its-kind initiative to develop their reading habit, in addition, to become economically self-reliant.
After arranging vocational training for a number of girls living in Bihar’s different “girls homes” (GHs) in hotel management and other vocational skills, now the social welfare department in Bihar has started setting up a library in each child care institution.
Sharing detail, the director of the social welfare department of the govt of Bihar, Raj Kumar said: “We have 70 child care institutions including girls home, the boys home, observation home and SAA. And out of them, 35 have already established good libraries”.
A couple of days ago, one such library was inaugurated at the girls’ home in the Kishanganj district by the DM and the SP together.
There are 11 girls’ homes in Bihar now of which 350 girls are living and getting educationally empowered.
“There is a plan to set up a well-equipped library with a rich collection of books ranging from classrooms to competitive levels. The newspapers, magazines, and other journals are being made available to the inmates of girls and boys homes”, Kumar said.
Prior to this initiative, aimed at exploring reading and comprehension intelligence by inculcating a good reading habit, a good number of inmates of the state’s various homes were sent for vocational training in Bangalore and Kolkata.
“Many of them have exhibited their brilliant culinary talents besides arts and other vocational skills. Financial support would be arranged for them through the bank at the government’s initiative to make them economically empowered, the director said.
Besides all this, the Bihar government has started providing normal gym facilities to boys and girls, nutritious foods including chayavanprash and others in their daily food menu. The interior decorations in almost all homes are being given aesthetical touches in order to enhance the creative ambiance inside the homes.
“The inmates of both boys and girls homes are exhibiting their brilliance in drawing paintings, wall paintings and other creative pursuits”, said the director.